Stick to the NCERT book to avoid confusion

Let’s start with the good news. Going by past trends, at least 80% of the questions are of average difficulty level. One can easily crack these questions with just two months of planned and focused study. Generally, not more than 20% of the questions will be of high difficulty level and require in-depth understanding of concepts.

Let’s first target your biggest worry – the numerical questions. Generally, numericals will take up 15% of the paper. Most of them are direct applications of the formulae mentioned in your NCERT book. Make sure that in the next few days, you make a list of the most important formulae chapterwise. Also, all worked examples in your NCERT book are a must. This will definitely build familiarity with various types of numerical problems asked in the exam and you will quickly understand the approach once you recognise the question. It has been seen that questions in the exam have been directly picked from your NCERT booklet. Hope you are completely aware of the updated syllabus from the CBSE website.

Optics carries 14 marks in the board examination. Concentrate on this topic, as well as on numerical problems on YDSE and diffraction. Ray diagrams and derivation must be practised in the next few days.

Also, a few more important chapters from where questions are frequently asked include CE transistor amplifier, switch and oscillator, Gauss’s theorem and its application, torque on a dipole in an electric field, force on a charge in a magnetic field along with radius-based numericals, all logic gates and waveform pattern questions and Derivation=IneAvd and temperature dependence of resistance.

Do not misunderstand me. While the chapters mentioned above are important, it does not mean that other chapters are to be ignored. Make sure you revise all chapters at least once to be familiar with the concepts. To make full use of your limited time, stick to your NCERT book till the exams. More books mean more confusion and you will struggle to complete the full revision.

Last but not least, remember your best form should be on the day of the exam and not before it. So, do not forget to ease yourself a bit about a week ahead of the exam. Do not study late into the night, take a half-hour break after continuously studying for two or more hours. Make sure you plan a daywise timetable and stick to it.

The key to success is in knowing your strengths and weaknesses and a planned approach based on that. If you plan well, you have won half the battle already. So, believe in yourself and nobody can stop you from achieving success. All the best!

Brajesh K Trivedi, HoD, physics, at HT Studymate, has more than 20 years’ experience in teaching students. He has been associated with the most reputable organisations in this field. He is associated with HT Studymate since 2010.

For the physics board exam I just referred to the NCERT for derivations and diagrams. I spent a lot of time memorising the important derivations. Reading the NCERT books a minimum of four to five times is necessary to score above 90%. I also solved several old questions and timed myself. Keep solving numericals and practising derivations and their diagrams.